Incinerator apparatus



Nov. 28, 1961 Filed May 5, 1959 J. J. CAMPBELL INCINERATOR APPARATUS Jbin James O a 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Nov. 28, 1961 Filed May5, 1959 J. JACAMPBELL INCINERATOR APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORJb/uz Jbmas Cam vied ATTORNEY Nov. 28, 1961 J. J. CAMPBELL 3,010,450

INCINERATOR APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 5, 1959 iNvEN'r R" JohnJames Campell BYZZMAV/KM ATTORNEY Nov. 28, 1961 J. J. CAMPBELL 3,010,450

' INCINERA'I'OR APPARATUS Filed May 5, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 3/ I +J hnJames 'a i zg gl I wwm 'ped or deposited violently on the said grate.

United Smtcs Patent Ofice 3,0liiA50 Patented Nov. 28, 1961 3,010,450INCINERATOR APPARATUS John James Campbell, Huntington, N.Y., assignor toMorse Boulger Destructor Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation ofDelaware Filed May 5, 1959, Ser. No. 811,034

9 Claims. (Cl. 126-462) This invention relates to an incineratorapparatus of the type commonly used as a means of disposing ofcombustible wastes such as garbage, newspaper or like combustible trash.This invention relates to improvements over United States Patent No.2,514,657, granted July 11, 1950, to W. S. Martin et all.

More particularly, this invention relates to a novel grate assembly foruse in an incinerator of the type described. Still more particularly,this invention relates to an incinerator and novel dump grate assemblytherefor which provides highly efi'icient processing of'waste materialswhile at the same time eliminating certain conditions common to dumpassemblies heretofore known, which conditions result in frequentbreak-downs in such known assemblies.

This invention relates further to a novel dump grate assembly in wasteincinerators or the like, which assembly permits repairs to be made tothe grate actuating assembly without interrupting the operation of theincinerator.

Still more particularly, this invention relates to an incinerator grateand actuating mechanism therefor having novel means to prevent damage tosaid actuating system resulting from the sudden discharge onto saidgrate of unduly heavy masses of waste material.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a grate of thetype described and operating mechanism therefor having an additionalsafety factor as compared with other grates heretofore known by reasonof the capacity of such grate to avoid premature dumping occasioned bythe deposit on such grate of undue weights of waste material, orocassioned by power failure in the grate actuating mechanism.

In accordance with known incinerating practice, refuse which maycomprise an admixture of combustible and non-combusdtible wastes isdepositedon a stoked fire bed for a period of time calculated to consumethe combustible portions thereof. As the debris is consumed, it isdistributed onto a dump grate or dump grates by a power stoking arm orother expedient. Periodically, the dump grates are tilted to deposit theashes into an ash pit and from there into an ash gate for collection bytrucks. Some materials remaining on a dump grate have a tendency to fusetogether or coke up and form a somewhat integrated, agglomerated mass.The formation of such integrated mass is a factor which interferes withefficient dumping and processing of the residue of the incineratingoperation.

A further complication in the use of incinerating devices heretoforeknown is the frequent shut-down necessitated by undue strain beingtransmitted to the dump grate actuating system by ash and refuse whichis drop];

Sue break-downs are often encountered where a hydraulic actuatingmechanism is employed for operating the dump grate since shocks impartedto the grate are, in such known actuating assemblies, transmitted to thehydraulic system.

Furthermore, in the event of failure of such known hydraulic systems,the weight of the dump grate plus the material supported thereby may besuflicient to cause a dangerous premature dumping of the hot ash on thegrate.

Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide a novelincinerator dump grate assembly and operating mechanism therefor.

A further object of this invention is to provide such dump grateassembly and operating mechanism having the desirable properties ofpartially disintegrating and dislodging fused or coked ash materialsprior to dumping the same into the ash pit.

A further obiect of this invention is to provide a dump grate andhydraulic operating mechanism therefor wherein shocks imparted to thegrate by descending ash and refuse will not be transmitted to the saidhydraulic system.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a hydraulicallyoperating dump grate assembly for incinerators or the like whereinhydraulic failure or loss of pressure in the hydraulic system will notresult in premature dumping of ash material accumulated on the grate.

To attach these objects and such further objects as may appear herein orbe hereinafter pointed out, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part hereof in which- FIGURE 1 is a verticalsectional view through an incinerator assembly in accordance with theinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a magnified partial section taken on the lines 22 of FIGURE1;

FIGURE 3 is a further magnified elevational view taken in the directionof the arrows 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 3 showing the orientationof the operating assembly when the grates are in dumping position;

FIGURE 5 is an end elevational view of the grate operating assembly witha grate dogging element locking the grate in horizontal position;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective View of the dump grates and operating assemblytherefor;

FIGURE 7 is a magnified plan view of the grate and grate actuatingassembly taken in the direction of the arrows 7-7 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken on the lines 88 of FIGURE 7,illustrating the various positions assumed by the dump grates.

The dump grate and operating assembly therefor have, for convenience,been illustrated in connection with an incinerator assembly inaccordance with that shown in United States Patent to Martinaforementioned. It should be understood, however, that the novel dumpgrate apparatus and mechanism therefor may, with the aid ofmodifications well within the skill of workers in the art, be adaptedfor use with any sort of incinerator or burning furnace.

Describing generally the operation of the illustrated inoineratormechanism, refuse which may comprise combustible materials such as wastepaper, rags and the like, admixed with non-combustible articles, such asglass, cans and so forth may be periodically dropped from a centraloverhead charging port in the roof of the incinerator assembly (notshown) onto a stationary compound dome or head which, by reason of itsshape and purpose is, for convenience of description, termed a Christmastree tuyere 10. The purpose of the Christmas tree head is to provide aweight bearing support at the center of the heap of rubbish to be burnedand, at the same time,.to serve as a tuyere, through which air,preferably heated, is carried into the pile. Such air passage is madepossible by the sectional construction of the so-called Christmas tree,the marginal portions dividing sections 11, 12, 13 serving to permitsuch air passage. The combustion area 14 of the incinerator is, inaccordance with known practice, surrounded by a fire wall 15. Access tothe interior of the combustion chamber 14 is provided above and belowthe burning level by circumferentially spaced furnace doors 16 and "17,respectively.

The lowermost section 18 of the head is provided with a plurality ofstoker arms 19 which extend radially from section 18 and are rotatedslowly by motor M which, by way of example, maybe of the order of fiveto ten revolutions per hour, said arms serving to agitate and aeraterefuse to promote higher burning efliciency thereof,

and to move the burning refuse radially outwardly onto j portions 20,21, and the Christmas tree head 10 to the heap of refuse, said heatedair promoting drying of the refuse at upper levels in the pile andburning of the dried refuse at lower portions of the pile "and on the.

hearth and grate members aforesaid.

Periodic dumping of the grate members 21 in a manner crank lever 36 iskeyed to the shaft 30, which shaft, at

its outer end, is preferably provided with a keyed shank of irregularlycontoured area, such as a hexagonal shank, as best seen in FIGURE 6, toprovide a positive driving connection between the lever 36 and the shaft30.

The end of the shaft 30 may be provided, in addition, with a retaininglever 37, likewise keyed to rotate with the said shaft, the lever 37including, at its radially extended portion, a retaining socket 38 forpurposes which will appear hereafter.

A dog member 39 is pivotally secured to the bracket member 34, aretaining part 40 being provided on said bracket to prevent the dog fromshifting into the path of the grate actuating mechanism, as will bedescribed.

A second axially directed bracket 41 is bolted or otherwise afiixed tothe outer side of the fire Wall 15- in proximate relation to the endplate bracket 34. The toggle link assembly '42 is connected betweenflange -43 of the bracket 41 and crank lever arm 36, the pintle member44 assuring a pivotal fit of the lower links 45 and the flange 43, withthe pintle 46 providing the pivotal securement of the upper links 47 tothe crank lever arm 36.

A double acting hydraulic piston and cylinder assembly 50 is interposedbetween the central junction 51 of the toggle link assembly 42 and thereinforced bracket 52, bolted or otherwise secured to a flange 53extending laterally from the firewall 15. The hydraulic assembly .50 isof conventional design and comprises a piston rod member 54,reciprocably slidable within a cylinder member 55. Hydraulic input andexhaust lines L" and L" lie above and below the extreme positions ofthehead to be hereinafter more fully described serves to discharge V thecompletely consumed refuse to the ash pit 22, leaving the burning anddump grate members free for receiving the further charge of incompletelycombusted wastes.

The frequency of discharge of ash from the grates 21 to the ash pit 22is controlled so that the quantum of ash in the pit 22 will be suitablein size for loading onto trucks which may be driven beneath the ashpit'gate 23 and loaded by opening such gate. 7 v V The dump gratemembers 21 which are located at the lowermost outer periphery of thecombustion chamber in such known structures, it is frequently necessary,

where excessive agglomerating, caking or coking takes place, to providesupervisory personnel who must reach through one of the doors 16, 17 anddislodge the caked or integrated mass to permit it to fall to the ashpit. The improved dump grate assembly of this invention, in addition tothe other advantages to be hereinafter pointed out, breaks or crushessuch caked or integrated masses, thus assuring highly efficient dumpingof ash materials and reducing to a minimum the supervisory personnelnecessary for attending to the operation of the incinerator.

As best seen from FIGURE 2, the grate members 21 of the instantincinerator assembly are generally of truncated triangular form and areradially directed toward the center of the Christmas treetuyere 10. Eachgrate 21 is provided with a trunnion shaft 30 keyed to rotate with thegrate, the said trunnion shaft being generally horizontally disposed androtatably mounted to the frame by spaced bearing parts 32, 33, affixedto the frame. The

bearing part 33 is preferably formed on an end plate bracket 34, boltedor otherwise secured at a pointroutside the fire wall 15 of theincinerator assembly.

(not shown) of the piston rod member 54, said assembly 50 being adaptedto shift the piston rod member 54 outwardly or contract thelatterinwardly of the cylinder 55 depending upon the selective introduction ofhydraulic fluid into the cylinder by means of lines L or L.

The operation of the dump grate mechanism will be described by makingparticular reference to FIGURES 3. 4, 5 and 8.

' In FIGURE 4, the dump grates 21 are shown in the vertical or fullydumping position in dot and dash lines. To raise the grates 21 to thehorizontal burning position, hydraulic fluid under pressure, by knownmeans, is introduced into the lines L", causing the piston rod members54 gradually to extend from the cylinder 55. The gradual extension ofpiston rod members 54 willcause the crank levers 36 of the left handassembly and the right hand assembly, as seen in FIGURE 4, to rotate,respectively, clockwise and counter-clockwise, such rotary motion beingtransmitted through shafts 30 to grate members 21. 7 It is important tonote that in extending from the dumping position of FIGURE 4 to thehorizontal burning position shown in FIGURE 3, the links 45, 47 of thetoggle assembly 42 pass from one side of a pre-dead center orientationwith respect to each other to an orientation to the other side orpast-dead center, that is to say, the junction 51 of the said linksinitially lies to one side of a line between the pintle members 44, 46and in the final or horizontal burning position lie to the other side ofsaid line.

When the links 45, 47 are in dead center or longitudinally alignedposition, the maximum rotation of the crank lever 36 and grates 21 willbe achieved. As shown in dot and dash lines in FIGURE 8, this positionof maximum rotation results in an elevation of the grate members 21 to afew degrees above the final horizontal position of said grate members,with maximum mechanical advantage. With the links 45, 47 inlongitudinally aligned or deadcenter position, further extension of the,piston 54 will break the links beyond dead center position and causethe grates 21 to be lowered to the horizontal burning position. It isimportant to note that when the grate 21 is in the final horizontalburning position, as shown in FIGURES 3 and 5, the piston head (notshown) is in extended limiting position, lying against the inner endpart of cylinder 55.

To assure accurate coordination of the position of the grate 21 and thefull extended position of the piston member 54, a variable threadedcoupling 60 is provided between the central junction 51 of the toggleassembly 42 and the piston 54.

With the grates 21 and actuating assembly therefor in the position shownin FIGURES 3 and 5, hydraulic pressure may be relieved from thecylinders 55 without fear of the grates 21 accidentally returning todumping position under the influence of heavy loads of waste or refuse.The non-self-reversing orientation of the grates 21 is due to the factthat the turning movement of the grates and their refuse load, actingthrough crank lever 36, urge the toggle link assembly 42 to close in adirection which would tend to move the junction 51 of the toggle linkagefurther away from the cylinder part 55, i.e. in the past-dead centerposition. Since the piston rod member 54 is in a limiting position insaid cylinder 55, such further outward movement of the junction 51 isprevented by the limiting extended position of the piston rod member 54with respect to cylinder 55. Furthermore, it will be readily recognizedthat shocks transferred to the grate 21 by masses of refuse charged intothe combustion chamber will not be imparted to the hydraulic systemsince the only effect of such shock or impact will be to draw the headof the piston 54 against the end stop provided by the cylinder 55. Thedisassociation of shocks on the grate in the system above describedshould be contrasted with the efiect of impacts upon dump grates ofsystems heretofore used, the effect of such impacts being to transmit asudden, enormous back pressure throughout the entire hydraulic system ofsuch other assemblies.

Furthermore, the novel dump grate operating assembly herein described,in dispensing with the necessity for maintaining hydraulic pressureduring the burning cycle, permits intermittent use of the hydraulic pumpassembly, thereby effecting economies in operation and upkeep of thelatter.

If desired, the hydraulic assembly 50 may be entirely removed forinspection or repair, by pivoting the dog 39 to cause the end partthereof to lie in the socket 38 of the lever 37. When thus dogged,movement of the grates 21 will be prevented since the torque of thegrate will be applied against the stationary dog 39.

To shift the grates 21 from the burning position shown in FIGURE 3 tothe dumping position of FIGURE 4, it is merely necessary to apply thesource of hydraulic fluid through the lines L. The initial movement ofpiston 54 will cause the links 45, 47 to straighten from the positionshown in FIGURE 3 to a dead center position, such initial movement ofthe piston being accompanied by a slight initial raising of the grates21 as shown in dot and dash lines in FIGURE 8. As the piston 54continues to reciprocate inwardly of the cylinder 55, the toggleassembly will cause the crank arm 36 and its associated grate 2-1 to belowered to the downward vertical position shown in FIGURE 4. The initialraising of the grates 21 which precedes the lowering thereof isextremely eflicacious to assure eificient dumping since the initialraising of the grates tends to break an interfused mass lying againstthe grates, the weight of refuse above such grates acting as a fulcrumor breaking moment for such inter-fused mass.

The total effect of the upward and subsequent downward movement of thegrates 21 tends to flex such interfused mass first upwardly and thendownwardly, assuring dumping of all but the most stubborn aggregate ofash.

As will be readily understood from the foregoing description, the grateactuating assembly, in efifect, causes the grate members 21, inproceeding from dumping posiposition to dumping position, to behorizontally oriented in two parts of each cycle. It will be readilyrecognized, however, that the advantages in breaking of inter-fusedmaterials and in relieving the hydraulic system from strain duringburning are realized only Where the grate member is permitted to passthrough an initial horizontal orientation and the junction 51 of thetoggle mechanism 42 is advanced from one side of a dead center orpre-dead center position of the toggle links to the other side of saiddead center or past-dead center position.

Accordingly, the term horizontal burning position as herein used shallbe interpreted as meaning the pastdead center position whereby thedesirable breaking and self-restraining features heretofore describedare achieved.

The above described assembly provides highly efficient dumping action ascompared with assemblies heretofore known by reason of the novel initialcrushing action provided thereby.

Accidental dumping or transmission of shock loads from the grate to thehydraulic actuating assembly is eliminated in the novel assembly hereindescribed, thus decreasing upkeep costs and reducing the number ofsupervisory personnel necessary to operate the assembly.

Having thus described the invention and illustrated its use, what isclaimed as new and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

'1. In an incinerator mechanism including a frame, a grate assemblycomprising a grate member supported to be pivotal about a horizontalaxis, a lever means keyed to rotate with said grate, toggle link meanshaving one free end secured to said lever means at a point eccentric tosaid axis and the other free end secured at a fixed position to saidframe, and motor means operatively associated with said toggle linkmeans and adapted to shift said grate to the dumping and burningpositions thereof by shifting the links of said toggle means through alocus of angular orientations to both sides of a dead center alignmentthereof.

2. The mechanism of claim 1 wherein the junction of said toggle linkmeans is disposed at one side of said dead center alignment when saidgrate is in horizontal burning position and at the other side when saidgrate is in dumping position.

3. The mechanism of claim 2 wherein said links pass through dead centeralignment in shifting from the horizontal burning to the dumpingposition thereof and said grate is elevated with respect to thehorizontal at said dead center position.

4. The mechanism of claim 2 wherein said motor means comprises a doubleacting hydraulic cylinder and piston assembly mterposed between saidlink means and a fixed point on said frame.

5. The mechanism of claim 4 wherein said piston is disposed at alimiting position in said cylinder when said grate is in horizontalburning position.

6. The mechanism of claim 5 wherein the weight of said grate and debriscarried by said grate urges said piston toward said limiting positionwhen said grate is in the horizontal burning position thereof.

7. In an incinerator, a dump grate assembly comprising an incineratorframe, bearing means on said frame, a horizontally disposed trunnionshaft supported in said bearing means, a grate member carried by saidshaft, a crank lever keyed to said shaft, toggle link means having onefree end pivotally secured to said lever and the other free endpivotally secured to said frame, linear acting motor means operativelyassociated with said toggle link means and adapted, upon extension andcontraction, to shift the central junction of the links of said togglemeans through a locus of positions to both sides of a dead centeralignment of said links, said junction being arranged to lie to one sideof said dead center alignment at the horizontal burning position of saidgrate and to the other side of said dead center position in the dumpingpositions of said grate.

8. A device in accordance with claim 7 wherein there included stop meansoperatively associated with said toggle link means and effective in thehorizontal burning position of said grate to limit movement of saidjunction in the direction of advance of said junction when said grate ismoved from the dumping to said horizontal burning 5 position.

' 9. A device in accordance with claim 8 wherein said motor means andstop means comprise a double acting hydraulic cylinder and pistonassembly wherein said piston is adapted to lie inlimiting position insaid cylinder 10 when said grate is in horizontal burning position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Wood tJuly 31, 1900 Foresman May 19, 1931 Hartland Feb. 9, 1932 Bennett Feb.9, 1937 Lyons Dec. 1, 1953

